Shadow

15

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Chat Noir's P.O.V

I swim into the elevator, quickly grabbing Marinette's still form. Those beautiful bluebell eyes are dull and little air bubbles leave Marinette's mouth occasionally. Panic and fear are twisting within my soul. The urge to call for help is fighting its way past my common sense.

I need to calm down and find my way through my foggy thoughts. There is no time to panic when someone's life is in danger. I'm the only one who can save Marinette's life.

I place my baton over her mouth and activate the oxygen setting. Then, I release a nose plug from the very weapon and place it on her nose. I watch Marinette to see if it's working. Unfortunately, I can't tell. I will have to find someone who knows about this kind of thing and fast.

Beep beep!

Really fast.

My eyes are drawn away from Marinette for a split moment when catching something out of the corner of my vision.

There is another girl not too far away. She's still awake and struggling to hold her breath. The girl oddly looks similar to Marinette with her hair down. Yet, I didn't put much thought into it. I don't have time to focus on something that can be a later thing.

   I slither an arm around Marinette's torso and swim over to the other bluenette. After wrapping my other arm around her, I made a hasty break back out the way I came in. I kick my aching legs to gain momentum. Yet, it is difficult kicking with such little space to do so and having to maneuver through the air vents while my arms are full. Plus, the added weight of two bodies makes me slower than before.

   I ignore the walls closing in around me, navigating my way through the tight space. There's just enough room for the three of us but it makes what little space I had before even smaller and tighter.

   It's nearly suffocating.

   Beep beep!

   I have to push this fear aside, shove it into the depths of my mind. I need to keep going. Need to keep pushing. Need to keep swimming. These two are running out of time and so is my miraculous. If my miraculous runs out of time before finding these two help...

   "No, don't think about that! You are going to get them out of here alive! They'll be okay! Marinette will be okay!" I yell at myself, pushing forward. I can feel the girl going lax in my arm. My anxiety elevates, causing me to somehow swim faster.

   Finally, I reach the last turn up. I'm breathing heavily, rushing for the light above. It feels so far away even though it's right ahead. I could reach for it but my mind is playing tricks on me, knowing well enough that it is farther than it seems. So close, yet so far away.

   It definitely felt faster going down but going up while carrying two teen girls is a lot harder.

I grunt with every kick, looking nowhere else except up—the light at the end of the tunnel. My vision starts getting blurry. My head feels like a spinning top. It's probably from staring at one thing for too long, but I'm not willing to risk it all on that theory.

   Beep beep!

   What seems like forever finally ends the moment I break the water's surface. People are waiting nearby the vent and immediately some men help take the girls out of my hold. I climb out, keeping a careful eye on Marinette.

   Someone pokes my shoulder. I turn to see the maintenance guy returning Tikki and give him a nod of appreciation. Then, I return my gaze to the girls.